


Love Isn't Enough

by twinsarein



Category: Smallville
Genre: Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-01
Updated: 2010-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-09 16:18:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/89306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twinsarein/pseuds/twinsarein
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clark and Lex are having marital problems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Isn't Enough

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ctbn60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ctbn60/gifts).



Clark stood in front of his closet, staring in disbelief. He rifled through all of the clothing again, just in case his eyes had deceived him the first time. They hadn’t. Gone were all of his cheap suits, his sweats, and his flannel. In their place were silk shirts, cashmere sweaters, and Armani suits.

He really couldn’t believe this. Lex had done it to him again. After all this time, after his repeated requests that Lex let him make his own choices, after all the arguments, apologies, the vows to not do it again, he’d done it again.

Clark hung his head in despair, but told himself not to jump to conclusions. Maybe it wasn’t what it looked like; maybe there was an explanation besides the obvious. He didn’t hold out much hope, but he’d been trying to avoid jumping to conclusions.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time Lex had done something like this. It wasn’t the fifth, the tenth, or even the twentieth time. Reaching a hand out, he felt the fabric of his, presumably, new clothes. They did feel good, they were stylish, they were tasteful, but…they weren’t his, they weren’t him.

Taking one fine specimen out of the closet, Clark walked backwards until the backs of his knees hit the side of the bed and he sat down. As he stroked the fine material, Clark despaired of ever making Lex understand that he didn’t need things to make him happy, that Lex is all he needed to accomplish that.

Clark remembered the first time it had happened. It had been just a few days after they’d returned from their honeymoon. He’d gone down to the garage under the LexCorp building to get his car. The car he’d worked hard to earn the money for while working part-time jobs in college.

It had taken him a year of saving, but he’d finally bought his very first car. He could still remember how proud he’d been of that accomplishment. He’d told everybody, crowed about it to Lex even. When he’d arrived in the parking garage, however, it was to find that his car was gone.

In its place had been a late model Ferrari. He searched the whole garage for his car, but it’d been nowhere to be found. Finally, he’d called Lex. That’s when he’d found out that Lex had gotten rid of his other car as not worthy of him. Apparently, he needed something that reflected his new place in the world.

He hadn’t been happy, but he’d held his tongue until Lex had come home that night. Then, Clark had really let him have it…

++++++++++++++++++++++

“Lex, I can’t believe you just got rid of my old car. It meant a lot to me, because it took me a long time to afford it.”

“Clark, I’m sorry you’re upset, but I just wanted to make sure that you had reliable transportation around the city. You deserve the best.”

Clark looks at Lex earnestly. “To me, that car was the best. It was the first big purchase I ever made, with no help from anyone; it was the car that’s gotten me everywhere I wanted to go, on time, for the last three years; and it’s where we first kissed. That’s better than any high performance car to me.”

Lex runs a hand over the bald dome of his head in agitation. “I’d forgotten we’d kissed for the first time in that car. God, that was a hot kiss! The way you pulled me in that night. I’m very sorry that my decision upset you, Clark. I’ll call the yard I had it towed to and get it back in the morning.”

Clark feels relieved that his beloved car isn’t gone for good, and he watches with delight as Lex stalkes across the floor towards him. “Th-thanks, Lex. I’ll be glad to have it back. And may-maybe sometimes I can..can drive the…God! You look so good. What are you doing?”

Clark looks down to where Lex had sunk to his knees in front of him, and feels his cock swell at the sight. It hardens even more when his zipper is pulled down and Lex reaches in and pulls his erection out.

“I’m going to let you know just how sorry I am for upsetting you, Clark.”

Somewhere inside, Clark finds it in himself to try telling him that doing anything like that isn’t necessary, but then Lex sucks him down and he loses all of his brain function.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+

Clark shifted on the bed as he remembered that not only had that been the first time Lex tried to make decisions for him, it had also been the first time he’d deep throated him. Even now, the memory of how he’d slid down Lex’s throat that first time had the power to make him hard.               

As he reached to touch his hardening shaft, Clark felt the soft fabric he still held, and was abruptly pulled back to the present. Looking back at the conversation had made him realize something unpleasant. Lex had apologized repeatedly for upsetting him, but he’d never apologized for what he’d done.

Falling backwards on the mattress, Clark covered his eyes with an arm and sighed.   How had he never noticed that before? Was it typical? Thinking further, he even remembered apologizing to Lex later. He’d asked why a Ferrari and Lex had said he remembered that Clark really liked the car driven by Magnum P.I. when he watched the reruns.

Clark had apologized for getting so upset when Lex had just been trying to do something nice and thoughtful. He’d meant it, too, but looking back on it, Clark knows it hadn’t really been thoughtful. He might never come out and said how much his car meant to him, but when he’d bought it, he’d enthused about how good he’d felt making such a big purchase with his hard earned money. Getting the Ferrari would have been a thoughtful gift, if Lex hadn’t then negated it by getting rid of his other car without even asking. Clark sighed again. The last thing he wanted to do right now was to go over all their past arguments for disturbing trends. Still, he should. Clark picked one at random.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++

Clark heads for the bank, whistling. He’s had a great day. He and Lois had managed to dig up all the facts they needed for their latest article; Perry had only yelled at him once; and he’d managed to avoid lying to the people he cares about all day, in spite of foiling a robbery, saving a pedestrian from a speeding car, and moving a boulder on some railroad tracks just before an oncoming train would have hit it.

All that and it’s his and Lex’s anniversary, too. He wants to get to the bank so he can withdraw some money for the present he ordered for Lex several weeks ago. He’s been getting worried about it arriving in time, but he’d gotten the phone call from the proprietor first thing this morning. Yet another thing that’s gone right today. Clark can’t help thinking that it really has been a red letter day.

All of his checks from The Daily Planet are direct deposited, and he’s been bad recently about updating his check register. He wants to be sure that he has enough money in his account before he gets the present. His parents had taught him the value of buying only what you can afford. He tries his best to stick to that policy.

He could have called the bank, even checked online, but it’s such a lovely day that he’d decided to walk instead. He enters the bank still whistling, and, in keeping with his luck today, a teller is immediately available. He walks up to her with a big smile on his face.

“Good afternoon,” Clark quickly looks at the name plate on the stand by her window, “Gloria. I hope you’re having a beautiful day. I’d like to find out the total amount in my checking account if I may, please.”

Gloria smiles back at the handsome, young man. “Certainly, sir. Do you have your account number handy?”

Clark digs out his wallet and pulls out the bank card with that information on it and hands it over.

“Thank you, sir. Just give me a moment. I’ll pull it up and write it down for you.” 

She passes the piece of paper across the window to him, and Clark does a double-take at the amount written on it.

“I’m sorry, Gloria. You must be mistaken. There’s no way that’s what’s in my account. Only my checks from work get deposited in here. I wish I got paid enough to have this high a balance, but I don’t. Please double check.”

Gloria looks back through her records, and then shakes her head. I’m sorry, Mr. Kent, but I get the same total twice.” She swings her screen around for him to take a look. “Every two weeks you get the same amount of money deposited into your account from The Daily Planet. You don’t seem to spend very much, so most of it has just been adding up.”

Clark looks at the screen she’s turned around for him in disbelief. Sure enough, the same amount of money appears in his account on a regular basis. Looking back through, he notices that the amount deposited was significantly lower until a few months ago. He nods his head. That old amount looks just about right.

Thinking back on the dates, he realizes that around the time they switched is the same time that Lex had bought the newspaper. Clark’s good mood vanishes, and he forgets all about why he’s come to the bank.

Remembering his manners, he manages to thank the teller, and then he abruptly stalks out onto the street. Moving with grim purpose, not even noticing that people are scrambling out of his way, he heads for home.

Storming off the elevator and into the penthouse as soon as the doors slide open, Clark almost runs right into Lex. Clark doesn’t even take in that Lex is home earlier than expected, or that he’s halfway dressed for an expensive night on the town. Instead, he’s so angry, that he rips right into his husband.

“Lex! Did you triple my pay at The Daily Planet, or get someone else to raise it when you took over?”

“Hello, Clark. It’s nice to see you, too. Happy anniversary.”

“Damn it, Lex, pay attention. Did you raise my pay at work?”

Lex looks at him with a raised eyebrow. “Of course I did, Clark. I had it raised almost as soon as I took over. I missed a few days due to some difficulties with the transition, but I didn’t think you’d mind the delay too much.”

“Not mind the…Lex, how could you? Wait, did you raise everyone’s salary that much? Because, if that’s the case…”

“Of course not, Clark, that would have bankrupted the company. Which is something I try to avoid doing, in spite of some of the benefits that can be derived from…”

“I can’t believe you! How could you do that? That’s my job. Mine, Lex. Something I earned on my own merits, and I should get paid based on those merits the same as everyone else.”

“C’mon, Clark. Don’t be so naïve. Do you really think that most CEO’s are getting paid by your standards? If they were, they certainly wouldn’t get paid as much as they do.”

Clark slumps, feeling drained by the argument already. “We aren’t talking about CEO’s, Lex, we’re talking about me and your penchant for doing things for me that I don’t want done. You just assume you know what’s best, and you do it, leaving me completely out of the loop. You aren’t my sugar daddy, and I don’t need you to pay for everything, or to make it easier for me to pay for it.”

Forcing himself to stand straighter, Clark looks Lex in the eye. “You need to stop doing things like this, Lex. I don’t want or need you to keep trying to make my life better or easier. I like my life the way it is, and you’re all I need to make me happy.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

+++++

As he continued to lie on the bed, Clark remembered that Lex had never really apologized for that incident either. They hadn’t gotten their anniversary date, as Clark had been too upset, and he’d gone to bed early that night. Lex had crawled in beside him several hours later and asked Clark to forgive him for upsetting him.

Not enjoying feeling so angry at his husband, especially on their anniversary, Clark had. They’d gone on to have the most amazing make up sex. Lex had introduced him to rimming that night.

The sex was definitely spectacular after every time Clark got mad and then forgave Lex. But Clark didn’t think that was enough anymore. He was tired of never knowing if the stuff he’d left behind in the morning would still be there when he came back home, he was tired of never knowing if he was successful at work, or if Lex was using his status as owner to pave his way.

It was in the midst of all of that inner turmoil  that Lex came home. Clark heard the elevator arrive, but he didn’t budge. He continued to lie there while he listened to Lex hang his coat, put away his briefcase, and pour himself a scotch, before he started to walk down the hallway to their bedroom.

Except for sitting back up on the bed, Clark didn’t move. He left the piece of clothing on his lap and simply waited. Soon, Lex was striding through their bedroom door.

“I see you found the new wardrobe. The materials are excellent, don’t you think?”

“Where are my old clothes, Lex?”

Lex looked at Clark in surprise. “Why does it matter? These clothes are much better than your others.”

Clark stared at Lex and refused to drop his gaze. “It matters to me. Where are they?”

Lex shrugged, his face getting a little worried by Clark’s tone. “Once the new ones arrived, I had them tossed out.”

Nodding, Clark knew that he hadn’t expected anything different, but he’d had to ask anyway. “Does that include the flannel shirts?”

Lex aimed a strange look at him and his matter-of-fact tone. “Yes, but look at some of the silk shirts. They were made especially with you in mind. Don’t they look like some of your flannel shirts?”

Keeping the same tone as before, Clark agreed that they did, but he had more to say on the topic. “Lex, did you know that some of those shirts belonged to my father? That they’re one of the last reminders of him that I could tolerate? Other shirts were reminders of special times in my life. One reminds me of the day we met; another reminds me of the day you asked me to marry you. Those shirts were like a chronicle of my life, and you threw them away. Without asking me. You replaced them with clothes that don’t fit the person I am at all. I’m not silk, cashmere, and Armani. That’s you. I’m flannel, cotton, and denim. But, it’s like you don’t see me at all or you do see me and just aren’t happy with who I am.”

Getting up from the bed, Clark looked at Lex sadly. “I can’t live like that anymore, Lex. I don’t feel like you accept me for who I am, and you don’t seem to trust the decisions I make because you override them or change them without even consulting me. You’ve thrown away food I enjoy and replaced it with pates and caviars. I’ve had arguments with co-workers who you then threatened to fire if they didn’t concede or apologize to me.”

“Clark, I know you’re upset, and I’m sorry about that…”

Clark looked up so sharply that it stopped Lex cold. “Yeah, that’s part of the problem, too. You’re sorry I’m upset; you’re not sorry for what you did. You’ve never once really apologized for any of the things you’ve done since we married. I feel like you don’t respect me as an equal partner, Lex, and maybe that’s fair. I don’t know. I do know that I can’t contribute as much monetarily as you can, and the penthouse is yours, not ours, but I work hard at my job and…never mind. I…”

“Clark…

Clark held his hand up for silence and shook his head. “No, Lex. Not right now. I need to get away from here for a while. I’m going to go back to my parent’s farm in Smallville. Please, don’t contact me for a while. I need to think.”

“Clark…”

The ache in Lex’s voice had Clark striding toward him. He took both of Lex’s hands in his and held on tight. “I love you, Lex Luthor. I always will, but right now I don’t like how you’ve been treating me and I don’t know what to do to make you understand. All of my efforts, from the very beginning, have been ignored or soon forgotten. I really just need to think.”

Without saying anything else, Clark rushed around the penthouse gathering the few things that he couldn’t do without, and then headed for the balcony. Lex came to the head of the hallway and stood with his hands in his pockets. Looking back at the man he loved more than any other one last time, Clark firmed his resolution, and leaped up and out. He was in Smallville before Lex had time to blink twice.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Clark settled into his parent’s farmhouse, although the place wasn’t the comfortable fit it used to be. With his father dead and his mother in Washington D.C. for the rest of the term, it was much emptier than he was used to. Plus, it had just been so long between college and marrying Lex sine he’d really lived here. Still, it was home.

He wished he had someone to talk to about everything, but everyone was off living their own lives. He supposed it was just as well. The solitude would really give him time to think.

Except, Lex seemed to have other ideas. His first day home, after he’d awoken from a restless night, he’d come downstairs to find the living room full of flowers in vases. There were flowers of every color and description. So he spent the day delivering them to the Smallville Medical Center to be distributed to the patients there.

He fell into bed exhausted that night, only to wake up the next morning to a downstairs full of stuffed animals. There were several charities in Smallville that catered to children. He divvied up the stuffed toys and delivered them all morning and afternoon. It wouldn’t have taken so long, except that he visited with several of the children that were recipients while he was there. He wished he could have been Superman for them. That really would have made their day.

It went on for weeks. Every day, Clark would come down and find something different. Sometimes it wasn’t things he could share, such as emails, or flowery poetry. Sometimes they were, such as the sports magazines (for sports he wasn’t interested in) or a large assortment of candy.

Clark got more and more discouraged every day. Everything Lex was doing just proved that he hadn’t learned anything. He hadn’t given him the time he’d asked for, so the respect still wasn’t there and all the ‘gifts’ he’d sent showed a distinct lack of understanding on just who Clark Kent was. Plus, there’d still been no apology. Not in anything sent. Not even a simple, “I’m sorry.”

Needing to talk to someone, he’d finally called his mom in Washington. She’d been too distracted by an upcoming vote to help him much.  At least, beyond listening to him rant. After he hung up, Clark felt even more discouraged.

Then, everything stopped. Clark came down one morning and nothing was waiting for him. He could hardly believe it. In fact, he didn’t. He spent most of the morning searching the human way for something from Lex. He didn’t want to overlook something at superhuman speed, or possibly damage something. He found nothing,

Clark spent the day feeling like something was missing, and he went to bed extremely unsettled. The next day and the next were repeats. Nothing at all from Lex. Clark thought about contacting him to find out if he was okay, but knew that was silly. If something had happened to Lex Luthor, it would be all over the news.

Clark forced himself to not wait around the house for something to happen. Instead, he took a tour of the farm and noted things that needed to be done. Then, he went into town to get some supplies. He was elbow deep in repairing a fence, when a limo pulled up. His heart sped up thinking that Lex had finally come to him. However, just his mother got out.

Stamping down a surge of irrational disappointment, Clark put on a big smile and hurried to give her a hug. “Mom!” It’s so good to see you. But, why are you home right now? I know the session doesn’t end for a few more weeks.”

Martha smiled at her baby boy and lightly punched his upper arm. “And miss being here for you when you’re having such trouble. Let’s go in, have some tea, and you can tell me all about what’s going on between you and Lex.”

Clark couldn’t believe how relieved he felt in talking to his mother. He was way beyond the age where he thinks his mom could solve all of his problems, but he couldn’t help feeling that they were solvable with her here.

He talked for what felt like hours and told her everything Lex had done since they got married, and how he never apologized, and how miserable he felt without his husband, but didn’t feel like anything had changed due to all the things Lex had sent.

When he finally wound down, they’d gone through two pots of tea, a plate of cookies (well, he’d eaten all but one of them), and the sun had set. Martha looked down at her last mug of tea, her hands wrapped around the warm ceramic, and finally looked up at Clark. “So, what are you still doing here, Clark?”

Clark just gaped at her. That isn’t what he’d been expecting to hear. He’d been expecting commiseration, understanding nods, and pats on his hands where they rested on the table.

Martha gave no quarter. “You listen to me, Clark, and don’t interrupt. He’s your husband. That means you should be there, not here, talking to him about all of this. Did you even once sit down and explain it all out to him, as you just did for me? Or, did you fling hurt feelings, ultimatums, and accusations at him?”

Clark’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but no sound emerged, and he stared at his mother helplessly.

“Clark, marriage is hard work. It never stops being hard; it takes constant work on the part of both parties to keep a marriage strong. So many young people think that love should be enough, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Love just make you willing to try. The most important thing to a successful marriage is communication. Constant communication. Not just of the bad things, but of the good as well.”

“Mom…”

Martha held up her hand. “I said don’t interrupt, Clark. Coming here for a day or two to cool down and think was a fine idea. Doing something like that can help a person to straighten their thinking out, remember what’s important, and prevents them from saying things they might later regret. However, you should never have stayed this long. You should have been back at the penthouse weeks ago, talking to Lex and figuring out, together, how to fix it.”

Clark looked down shamefaced, but his head came back up quickly in alarm as a sudden thought zinged through him. “Mom, do you thing Lex got tired of waiting for me? Do you think it’s too late? He stopped sending stuff days ago.”

Martha smiled enigmatically. “I think Lex loves you very much, and he waited years for you when you were younger. I doubt he’s moved on at this point. You should think about heading home, though, and about ensuring that this problem gets sorted out between the two of you quickly. It’s already been allowed to go on and fester for far too long.” 

Martha held up a hand to Clark. “Clark…”

She broke off when a knock came at the kitchen door. Mother and son looked at each other, but Martha just shooed him towards the door.

Clark opened it, but before he could say anything, the man on the steps beats him to it. “Special delivery for, Clark Kent. Are you he, sir?”

Clark nodded wordlessly and took a folded piece of white paper from the man’s grip.

“Telegram for you then, Mr. Kent.”

Clark stared at the man incredulously. “We have a telegraph office in Smallville?”

The man looked at him wryly before smirking and turning away, throwing his answer over his shoulder carelessly. “You’d be surprised at what’s in Smallville, Mr. Kent.

Not even waiting for the man to drive away, Clark tore into his telegraph and read it quickly. Smiling, he went to give his mother a hug and a kiss. “Thanks, Mom. For everything. I really appreciate that you came all the way back from Washington to help me out. But, now, I…”

Clark broke off, feeling guilty about what he was about to say.

Seeing that, Martha finished for him. “But, now you need to go. Right?”

Clark nodded his head, not looking his mother in the eyes.

“So, go. What are you waiting for?”

Smiling, Clark whirled into action and took to the air. He knew exactly where he was going now. Since he wasn’t in costume, he tried to keep out of sight as much possible as he flew over the United States and into Canada.

He lighted down gently outside of a beautiful and deceptively rustic cabin. This had been his favorite place to come with Lex. They’d bought it together, and of all of Lex’s various pieces of property around the world, this was the one that made him feel the most comfortable and at home.

Standing on the doorstep, Clark shifted from foot to foot indecisively. Now that he was here, he wasn’t sure he should go in. Then he remembered what his mother had said, and the telegram. He lifted his hand and knocked.

A quiet ‘come in’ had him turning the doorknob and stepping over the threshold. What he saw made him stop in his tracks.

Lex stood by a table laden with simple foods and real estate brochures, and soft music of one of Clark’s favorite singers filled the air. What stopped him more than anything else, however, was what Lex was wearing.   He was dressed like Clark. He had on a flannel shirt, jeans, and even sneakers.

“Lex?”

“Clark, thank you for coming. For being willing to see me after all of my mistakes.”

“Lex…”

“No, Clark. Let me finish, please. I want to get this all out. I apologize, Clark. I’m very sorry for treating you as less than an equal and for trying to make you into something you’re not. If you come back, I promise I’ll try my best to fix both problems.”

Clark felt guilt flood him at Lex’s words. “Lex, I never meant to make you think I wasn’t coming back. I was hurt and frustrated, but I could never leave you. Not for good anyway. I’m sorry, too.”

Lex looked startled at that declaration. “You’re sorry? What for?”

Clark shrugged. “I never should have taken off like that. If I want you to treat me as an adult, as an equal, then I can’t run away when I have a problem. I need to stay and talk to you about it. Forgive me?”

“Of course, Clark. I’m the one that should be asking you…”

“Already forgiven. How could I not after the effort you went through. Plus, you’re wearing denim and flannel for me. You obviously love me very much to make such a sacrifice.”

Clark says it in a teasing tone, but there’s a heat in his eyes too, as they rake over Lex’s slim form.

Lex clears his throat. “Ah, Clark. I have one confession.”

Clark licks his lips, but forces himself to listen. “What’s that?”

“I didn’t come to an understanding of the problem without help.”

Clark pricks his ears up at that. “Oh?”

“Yes. Your mother called me almost a week ago. Through a series of questions that made me feel as though I was being cross-examined in a courtroom, she made me realize what I’d been doing to you. Therefore, I can’t take the credit for solving the difficulty.”

Nodding his head, Clark takes a couple of steps closer to Lex. “Did she tell you what you were doing wrong directly or make you work it out yourself?”

“I worked it out based on my answers to her questions.”

“Did she tell you to contact me by telegram, use this cabin I feel most comfortable in, have my favorite foods, provide a selection of brochures of alternate places for us to live, or to dress in my favorite clothes?”

“No.”

Clark stalked forward a couple of more steps. His eyes darkened as Lex shivered just a little. “Then, she may have helped, Lex, but this is all you. Besides, she made me see how much of a dunderhead I was being, too.”

“Your mother is a remarkable and formidable woman.”

Taking the last few steps that would bring him flush against Lex, Clark stared down at his husband intently.  “Yeah, she’s amazing alright.” Leaning down, Clark hovers right over Lex’s now upturned mouth. “Lex?”

Lex moaned as Clark’s breath ghosted over his moist lips. “Yes, Clark?”

“Do you really want to continue talking about my mother?”

“No.”

“Thank god.”


End file.
